I'd rather be having a quiet drink... and can be followed on Twitter @alcothusiast; and friended on Untappd (handle: "neilcake" - all welcome).

Tuesday, 17 February 2015

Cask Strength Roundup

Looking at my blog
stats gives the impression that a fair few people aren’t sure what to do with
cask strength spirits. Since my original,
well-visited foray into that world I’ve made it my business to investigate cask
strength expressions wherever possible, so I thought now would be a good time
to revisit the subject, look at some examples and draw some conclusions.
Onward…

Caol Ila 61.3%

This of course was
the original cask expression that I got so excited about. I was quite precise
about ratios whenever I drank this one, figuring I didn’t want to waste one
drop of enjoyment. Enjoy it I did, but not as much as the standard 12 year old
which has its optimum strength already worked out for you.

To be fair, the cask
strength isn’t just the 12 year old with less water in it – judging by its even
paler hue and lighter, less luxurious body, it is also a good deal younger.
That is only idle speculation on my part (feel free to correct me if you know
better), though if it is fairly young spirit, it does quite well.

Berry Bros and Rudd Bunnahanhain 1979 51.8%

This has probably been
the best cask strength expression so far. Dark of colour, fruity and tart of
flavour, it never seemed to overstep the mark when it came to the line between
strength and flavour. I only have one small taste of a non-cask strength
Bunnahabhain to compare it with, but I don’t think we need to go down that
route. This was superb – perhaps its 32 years in a cask helped it to mellow
somewhat. You can read more of my impressions of this one here.

Glen Garioch Founders Reserve 48%

48% is quite low to
be cask strength, and I would also have thought quite low for such a young cask
strength expression. Come to that, 48% is just a weird strength. Nevertheless,
this was an average to below average expression, and as such it isn’t something
to judge cask strength expressions by. You can read more of my impressions of
this one here.

Bladnoch 12 - Sheep Label 55%

In spite of, or
possibly because of high expectations, this one never quite achieved the
greatness that the 46% 10 year old did. The line between too much and too
little water was a little too fine. I took it to a cottage-share with some
friends in Gloucestershire and while it was good for demonstrating how addition
of water is essential for cask strength whiskies, it was not the excellent
example of scotch that I was hoping it was going to be. You'll be able to read more of my
impressions of this one in the coming months.

Aberlour A’bunadh
60.7%

A good example – and
beautifully presented, but it cemented to an extent my general indifference to
Speyside malts. One that would certainly be drinkable at full strength, but for
optimum enjoyment a good deal of water was required. In the end, this one just
didn’t demand I pull it out of the cupboard often enough. You can read more
about this one in the coming months.

Four Roses Single
Barrel 50%

Sadly I could never
quite get the the flavour to burn ratio correct with this one when adding water
– you could reduce the burn, but if you added enough water to take care of the
burn properly, the flavour was ruined, and it always made me want to keep
adding water until that inevitably happened. I’m no expert on bourbon as yet,
but given the big flavours that are out there for reasonable prices, I’d
suggest you’d be better going for one of those than you would this. Again, check back over the coming months to read more about this one.

Arran 1997 Single
Cask 56.3%

I haven’t quite
finished this one yet, but it has been setting a good example so far. A few
small drops of water are usually enough. Perhaps not quite as impressive as the
Bunnahabain, but gentle and sweet in equal measure. It is also better presented
than even the Aberlour A’bunadh – though admittedly about twice the cost. You
can read more about this one sometime in the future.

Concluding Remarks

I do like the extra
strength, but in general I’d probably rather do without the chaos element that
having to add your own water brings. You’re never quite sure you’re getting the
most out of it and that blurs the line between the effect your dilution is
having on it and the possibility that maybe sometimes the product may not be as
good as some others.

You should probably even
get cask strength editions at a cheaper rate than others because the distillery
hasn’t bothered taking the time to figure out what the right level of dilution
is. I suppose you are getting more of the overall product, but every time you
pour a glass you have to have one or two tastes before you’re certain you’ve
added about the right amount of water – then there’s always that point where
you know you’re close, but wonder if you should add a little more, while also
being aware that you might end up adding a drop too much and ruining it.

It’s probably only
me who worries to this extent, though harking back to that original post, I
have seen from looking at my blog stats that a lot of the people who are
directed to my first ever post about cask strength scotch, have asked Dr
Google, how to drink cask strength scotch,
so there’s clearly a lot of uncertainty. They don’t want to waste it by doing
it incorrectly either.

All in all, cask strength
whisky just seems a bit too much hard
work sometimes. So what I find is that a lot of the time I just elect to
keep the cask strength stuff in the cupboard. And anyway, shouldn’t I be able
to trust the distillery to add the optimum amount of water? And come to that, isn’t
it the case that the water they add at the distillery is going to be from the
same source as what made the whisky in the first place and therefore better
able to complement the spirit than the cheapest bottled water I can buy in a
local supermarket? Or does that depend whether the water is added at a bottling
plant, potentially far away from the source?

So I suppose, as
with all whisky, the cask strength variety is another genre to be explored –
there’s going to be good and… less good in it as you would expect with
anything. It’s just that there’s something exciting about those extra ABVs, and
that may or may not be a good thing – depending on the particular variety
you’ve gone for.

Definitions

What happens when you zone out after having had a cheeky lunchtime pint.

Alcothusiast:

Not an alcoholic, someone who appreciates booze.

Anxiety, The:

The uneasy feeling that accompanies any noteworthy hangover.

Booze Buffet Mentality:

The propensity people have to go nuts whenever there's a free bar.

Booze Porn:Photos of alcohol.

Bread Chest:Not booze related, but this term describes the indigestion you get from eating too many bread products too quickly. Just putting it out there...

Crawler's Block:The inability to decide where to go next during a pub crawl - often resulting in crawl stagnation and someone saying, "shall we just have another one here?"

Crawl Stagnation:The result of failing to plan a pub crawl sufficiently - lack of a route, theme or over-familiarity with nearby pubs can all be contributing factors.

Excess Induced Alcohol Aversion:An intolerance for a drink caused (usually) by one occasion of overindulgence.

The Family:My whisky collection.

MOMA:

Moment of Maximum Appreciation. Every bottle has one. It's the time you drink it where you enjoy it most.

Old Man Pub:Traditional British pub, renowned for being quiet, cosy and frequented by old men. Much favoured by people who like a nice chat while they drink.Psychological Drinks Cabinet:Collective term relating to the kinds of alcoholic drinks a person has need for.Road Beers:

Cans of beer that you take with you when you go out, to consume on the way.

The 3 Types of Rum:White, gold and dark. Together they form the base of many a great cocktail.

About Me

Neil Cake is interested in all types of booze, but is by no means an authority or expert. Most of the time he's just trying to be funny, but he is learning, and enjoys sharing his adventures and what he learns on the Drink it How You Like it blog.
Thengyuverrymuuuuuch.